Scandal hits Juventus

Updated: 25 February 2007 10:40 IST

Goals from two most talismanic figures David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero give Juventus their 29th Serie A title.

Written by NDTVSports

Read Time: 2 mins

Rome:

Goals from two most talismanic figures David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero give Juventus their 29th Serie A title.
But little did Del Piero realize when he scored the goal that it could well be his team's last bit of action in the Italian top-flight for at least a year.
The club could now be implicated in Italy's biggest soccer scandal in over two decades, and relegated to Serie B.
Juventus' entire Board resigned last week after newspapers published transcripts of former General Manager Luciano Moggi discussing refereeing appointments with senior Football Federation officials last season.
It is not the first time Juventus have been suspected of being actively involved in match-fixing.
If they are found guilty, Italy's most successful club, could be stripped of their last two titles and demoted to the second division.
Fans angry
Fans who celebrated hours after their team bagged another Scudetto turned hostile once news of possible relegation started filtering in.
"They ruined football, even if I am a Juventus fan, Juventus did not need this kind of help, Juventus would have won anyway," said another.
Italian Prime Minister and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has said that his team, which finished second after losing to Roma, should instead be declared Serie A champions.
Adding fuel to the fire was Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, who said that recent Italian Serie A championships had all been "fixed".
But the far bigger fear for Italian fans is that this scandal could have a devastating impact on the morale of the national team ahead of FIFA World Cup in June.